Why solar power makes Perfect Sense: celebrating our 2nd anniversary

Dennis Eagle Blackpool

Several years ago, back in September 2023, a brand-new initiative was launched at Dennis Eagle known as ‘Where’s the Waste’ by our Managing Director Keith Day. The goal of the initiative was to prompt novel, innovative, or inspirational suggestions to try and improve sustainability measures across the business. One such suggestion came from Oliver Minett, the General Manager of our Blackpool site. Oli spotted an opportunity to introduce solar power at Dennis Eagle with the aim of reducing our reliance on the National Grid as our sole source of electricity while generating green, renewable energy.

It began at Blackpool

After putting forward a considered, comprehensive proposal and investigating potential suppliers, Oli was given the go ahead to explore the benefits of solar power at the Blackpool site. All he needed was the right installation partner. After a review of different options, it just so happened that his previous employer had the ideal recommendation: Perfect Sense Energy. Having established themselves as a reliable, approachable, and reputable solar supplier since 2010, Oli knew Blackpool would be in good hands.

While the project kicked off in January 2024, several approvals and permissions first had to be sought, for example, with the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) for Blackpool, Electricity North West. As soon as permission was granted, the team got straight to work. From the very beginning of the project, Dennis Eagle and Perfect Sense Energy worked collaboratively to design the right system in order to support Blackpool’s unique needs. This consisted of taking half-hourly data directly from Blackpool to help shape and provide a sweet spot for the best possible return on investment, considering energy consumption, operating patterns, roof space, and any future requirements.

“Our main objectives and the motivations behind introducing solar power at Blackpool were to reduce the cost of energy to the business, improve energy efficiency, and alleviate the environmental impact of our operations by lowering our carbon footprint,” explained Oli. “My aim was to ensure the system was in place and ready to go by January 2025 so that we could eventually see a full year’s performance from the following January.”

Per Oli’s intended timescales, the install started on 18th November 2024 and was completed on 13th December 2024. The full system consisted of two 100kW Solis inverters and 440 solar panels, the latter of which were installed onto the building’s historic south-facing roof – once recorded as the widest roof span in the northwest in 1929 – with an eye on the potential to install even more in future if needed. For further assurance, the solar panels were given a twenty-year manufacturer’s warranty and a thirty-year manufacturer’s performance guarantee, with a ten-year manufacturer’s warranty applied to the inverter and mounting system components. While the initial install was originally forecast to take three weeks, due to the unforgiving winter weather and the appearance of slippery frost, this ended up taking four weeks, but this didn’t deter Perfect Sense Energy’s Project Managers from getting the job done swiftly and safely.

“Because our Blackpool site is a working factory, Perfect Sense Energy didn’t want to disrupt any of our vital daily operations, so remained very mindful throughout the project to ensure the installation was completed as quickly and seamlessly as possible,” said Oli. “They were excellent to work with, and the installation itself was very impressive – it was completed with professionalism and care. They even supported us to find a suitable cleaning contractor to maintain the solar panels following the project’s completion.”

With Oli’s key objectives in mind, the fundamental aim was to achieve a 35% reduction in energy usage from the grid, resulting in a 35% reduction in the site’s electricity bills. As all of Dennis Eagle’s manufacturing activity takes place during daylight hours, the addition of the solar panels would ultimately result in 60% of the generated electricity being self-consumed on-site, alleviating their need to take energy from the grid. A testament to the success of the project: Oli’s aim was already achieved by the end of August 2025.

The 215kW commercial solar PV system was predicted to generate 213,000kWh each year, with payback in three years and circa £45,000 of savings in year one. Thus far, the system has performed at an average of 105% of its predicted generation, has already reduced Blackpool’s electricity bills by 35% with savings of over £55,000 to date, and enables the factory to export any surplus electricity back to the grid via British Gas, providing a projected export income of £12,000 a year. The system has exceeded expectations and continues to be monitored on a regular basis by both Oli and Perfect Sense Energy’s team through their highly sophisticated Solis platform.

Solis offers important insights into the system’s performance, including an overview of what the building is consuming, how much energy is being generated by the solar panels, and what is being pulled from the grid. Its intuitive and easy-to-navigate dashboard also summarises the environmental benefits of the system and an upcoming weather forecast to help predict energy generation. In addition to this, it allows Oli to monitor the 100kW inverters, supporting him to both maximise their full potential and stay alerted to any maintenance requirements.

Terberg Matec Worksop

A flagship site for future change

Completed as part of a larger office refurbishment project, which took place across 2025 and 2026, Blackpool became the flagship site for solar power at Dennis Eagle. Oli’s commitment to that change isn’t over yet – he would like to see a second phase of the project introduce battery packs to the installation, allowing the factory to save up some of its generated electricity for later use, further optimising energy utilisation.

“Oli is really our perfect customer,” said Charlotte Reynolds, Head of Business Support at Perfect Sense Energy. “He was very much bought into the benefits of the project from day one and has been completely switched on and highly supportive throughout. What’s more, he’s dedicated to ensuring his team is able to live and breathe the solar experience and get involved in the drive for sustainability wherever possible.”

In fact, the project proved so successful that our Worksop factory reached out to Oli with the intent of facilitating their own solar panel installation in early 2025, and he was quick to recommend Perfect Sense Energy. This resulted in the solar specialist installing two new systems at two of our Worksop sites – a 126kW system at our main Worksop unit and a 70kW system for its smaller cousin on the Highgrounds Industrial Estate. This resulted in a total of 436 Tier 1 450W solar PV panels across both sites, with 110,000kWh of electricity generated from the point of install at the main unit and 65,000kWh from the smaller unit. The main Worksop unit has a projected payback of four years, with 34.5% of the site’s electricity usage now covered by the panels. Moreover, the installation has also reduced CO2 emissions from the factory by more than 110 tonnes. In comparison, the smaller site has a projected five-year payback, with 49.7% of usage covered by the panels and a CO2 reduction of nearly 65 tonnes so far.

The future of solar looks bright at Dennis Eagle, with scope now also being considered for an installation at our Warwick site over the next few years. We’re devoted to enhancing sustainability across our sites, and solar power has proven a big step in the right direction.